Thursday, May 9, 2013

Peter Rauhofer


So sad to hear the shocking news of the passing of DJ extraordinaire Peter Rauhofer! Every remix this amazing Austrian Dj and producer put his hands on became big room anthems and took the dancer into an intense journey on the dance floor.  His residency at the Roxy was legendary as he re-defined late '90s dance music and pretty much ended it when the famous space closed it's doors during the mid '00s.  His moniker Club 69 and Size Queen became essential during any big space club event as well.  He won a Grammy for remixing Cher's "Believe" and the list of artists he worked with was top notch including, Madonna, Janet Jackson,  Pet Shop Boys, Adele, Rihanna, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Yoko Ono,  Pink, Tori Amos, Mariah Carey and many more.   Although I was not a big fun of the lengths of some of his re-mixes and a few of the hard house stuff he did, I understood it and appreciated it whenever I would go to the Roxy.  He was brilliant and I will never forget how his passion spread like wild fire of on that dance floor.  Here are two songs that show the spectrum of his brilliance. His recent  remix of Adele's "Skyfall" epitomizes his unique trademark and my favorite by him, the Pet Shop Boys amazing collaboration for bringing the house classic "Break 4 Love" into new form.  You will be missed and your legacy will never be forgotten.  You are probably turning it out up there in the cosmos!  RIP.




Sunday, April 14, 2013

Thank you Mr. Vincent Montana JR.


So sad to hear the passing of one of the greatest disco composers, Mr. Vincent Montana Jr. Two years ago I did a posting celebrating his eighty third birthday here: Happy Birthday Mr. Montana  which included a few bits of extensive legacy.   He touched so many people with his greatness and genius pioneering the art of music scoring that transcended grandly on the dance floor.  His music was epic in every sense and on the dance floor, it brought the dancer to a different emotional plateau and new heights. A true legend! Thank you for all the amazing music you gave us.  Your legacy will live on forever!

Vincent Montana Jr. 1928 - 2013





Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Everybody

Madonna at the Lower East Side of Manhattan, 1982

The song that jump started her career.  It was 1982 and  DJ/Producer Mark Kamins who sadly passed away recently of a heart attack,  produced it and brought it to Sire Records president to sign her a two song deal this yet unknown dancer.  Madonna performed live during his residency at legendary seminal club Danceteria .  It became huge at the clubs, it used live drums and keyboard and her vocals were not as polished  and yet the sense of urgency in her voice put a spell on the dance floor. "Everybody"  t had an amazing R&B infused beat, it was raw and you couldn't escape it! Here is the Dub version. Enjoy

It was decided not to put her on the cover wanting to create a mystery and sell copies to the black/r&b market.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Love Is In You


We close the weekend with one the most feel good disco songs ever!  Twelve minutes and twenty seven seconds of pure bliss.  This song was released in 1979  by Nightlife Unlimited on Casablanca Records. Nightlife Unlimited was actually two groups. The Canadian outfit burst in the scene in 1979 with "Disco Choo Choo". The first line up consisted of Tony Bentivegna and Johny D'Orazio (the two constant members) and Louis Toteda and Peter Sciascia (vocals).  "Love Is In You" was their biggest on the dance floors I would guess this would be played during peak times or at the end of the night.  Nightlight Unlimited continued during the early part of the '80s with a different line up trying to match the shifting nature of dance music but never captured the lush and magical quality of this fabulous disco. Enjoy!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

House Nation



April is already upon us and I'm going to start the month featuring a very interesting take on "House Nation" by Pleasure Zone. This sexier stripped down version has all the elements of the original without the trippy instrumental organ.  I recently discovered this rare gem while visiting my new favorite record store Co-op 87 Records which recently opened in Greenpoint. This tiny record store has an amazingly pristine selection of all kinds of rare vinyl with an incredible well curated selection of rare dance music. Also, I added the original by The Housemaster Boyz and the Rude Boy of The House version for safe measure.  If you were to sum up the essence of '80s house music this would be it without a doubt. Enjoy!